MATT HARVEY: TRUE BLUE METS PHENOM!

Starting Lineup

Game Notes

David Wright played his 61st consecutive game without an error yesterday, extending the franchise record for third basemen…It is also the longest current errorless streak by a third baseman in the majors.

John Buck is tied for the National League lead with nine RBI…Buck tied a team record with nine RBI in his first five games with the team…Mike Jacobs also had nine RBI in his first five games with the club in 2005…Buck did not record his ninth RBI until May 13 (in his 25th game) last year.

Daniel Murphy ad five RBI in the three-game series vs. Miami, including two home runs, including a solo blast on Sunday… Murphy did not hit his second home run of the season last year until June 27 (his 74th game when he actually hit first two home runs of the year at Wrigley Field)…Murphy has collected an extra-base hit in three consecutive games.

Mets starting outfield of Collin Cowgill, Lucas Duda and Mike Baxter combined to go 0-for-10 on Sunday, but Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Marlon Byrd delivered clutch hits off the bench in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Mets to a 4-3 walk-off win.

This season, Mets starters have combined to post a 1.98 ERA (five earned runs/36.1 innings pitched), ranking second in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (1.32)…Jon Niese, Matt Harvey, Dillon Gee, Jeremy Hefner and Aaron Laffey have combined for 31 strikeouts in the club’s first six contests, the sixth-most among National League clubs.

New York’s bullpen tossed 4.2 scoreless innings yesterday to help preserve the win…The Mets has a 3.57 ERA (seven earned runs/17.2 innings), ranking 15th in the majors. Scott Rice earned his first major league victory yesterday, pitching a scoreless inning…Rice spent 14 years in the minors prior to this year.

Game Preview

The Mets start their first road series of the year in Philadelphia tonight. The Mets are fresh off of winning their first two series of year for the first time since 2006 and their first walk off win of the year. Aaron Laffey allowed a lot of hits in the first 4.1 innings and somehow only 3 earned runs. The bullpen took over after that and didn’t allow a single run and the Mets were able to stage a rally in the ninth inning. The Phillies have gotten off to a rocky start dropping their first two series of year with a 2-4 record. Tonight Matt Harvey looks to repeat his first performance as he goes up against Roy Halladay.

Matt Harvey picked up the win in his first start not allowing any runs in 7.0 innings while striking out 10 batters and only walking 2. Last season he was 3-5 over 10 starts and 59.1 innings. Last season he faced the Phillies twice, picking up a win in 13.1 innings of work allowing only 3 earned runs while walking 5 batters and striking out 13. The Phillies have the following numbers against Harvey:

The Mets batters look to do battle with Roy Halladay tonight who could be in a rough spot. He struggled early on Spring Training and it looks like some of his pitches have become flat. That struggle (11 ER in 16.1 innings at Spring Training) continued into the season as Roy allowed 5 ER over 3.1 innings against the Braves. He only pitched against the Mets once last year allowing 2 ER over 7 innings, and he normally does well against the Mets who have the following numbers against Halladay:

My name is Elliot and I’ve been writing the Game Preview posts at MMO since 2008. I am excited to be back sharing my thoughts with you. When I’m not watching the Mets, I’m a Physics Teacher in Newark, NJ and writing about the Mets at 213 Miles From Shea. LGM! You can follow me on twitter @213mfs